Donkey Kong Country Before Christmas
by Imaginative-Believer
Summary: Lord Fredrik and the Snowmads had taken over Christmas Town by force and expelled some of its key figures, including Rudolph and Clarice. DK, Diddy, and the other Kongs must help Rudolph and Clarice find their friends, who had been scattered in different areas of DK Island, get them back to Christmas Town, and help overthrow Lord Fredrik.
1. Chapter 1

Two familiar primates walked among crowds of humans in the cold winter streets of New Donk City. One was a huge, muscular gorilla with brown fur, peach skin, and a red necktie with a yellow "DK" logo, none other than the famous Donkey Kong. The other was an adorable little monkey with the same fur and skin colors as Donkey Kong, a connected pair of tall oval-shaped eyes with tiny black pupils, a red Nintendo hat, and a red sleeveless shirt decorated with two large golden stars, none other than DK's sidekick, de facto nephew, and best friend, Diddy Kong. No havoc was caused by their presence, for everyone knew who they were. As a matter of fact, the entire city had been named after Donkey Kong, and one of the markets had been named after Diddy Kong. Ever since Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong met, it had become an annual tradition for them to take the magical Polar Express to New Donk City for a late December overnight and morning trip before Christmas Eve. After an action-packed morning of frolicking around in FAO Swanky, ice skating at Rambifeller Center, getting Diddy Kong the special holiday plush Gingerbread Monkey at Build-a-Kong Workshop, going to Mayor Pauline's annual Christmas concert at the Mayor Pauline Commemorative Park, and a lunch at Banana Bagels, the two Kongs were on their way to Stanley's Greens. Sometime after his battle with Cranky Kong, years before Donkey Kong was born, Stanley the Bugman developed a love for floral life and opened up his own metro-styled greenhouse, Stanley's Greens, after Pauline became the mayor of New Donk City. Donkey Kong wanted to buy his father a Christmas tree for his first Christmas back on DK Island after returning from the Pride Lands.

With his strong desire to do something nice for his father, Donkey Kong strangely felt a lot of anxiety about what the manager of Stanley's Greens, Stanley himself, would think. Stanley was still a bit wary of the Kongs after his fight with Cranky Kong years ago. Due to this, he would make Donkey Kong sign a contract upon every visit, agreeing not to cause trouble with the threat of incarceration at the New Donk City Zoo if the vow was broken.

"Diddy, what if Stanley don't let DK buy a Christmas tree for his dad?" Donkey Kong anxiously asked his little buddy.

"Donkey Kong, I think you're worrying too much," Diddy Kong assured him. "He gave you a contract to sign every year when we visited his greenhouse, and that guaranteed that we could be there if we didn't cause trouble."

"But DK and Diddy only go in past years to look at Christmas plants, not buy Christmas trees," DK reminded Diddy. "DK want one for his dad."

"I don't see why Stanley wouldn't let you buy one," Diddy told DK. "Just because your bitter old grandfather had that fight with Stanley in a greenhouse years ago doesn't mean you should doubt yourself. Besides, you weren't the one who committed the crime, so don't beat yourself up over a crime that you didn't commit."

"DK hope Diddy right," Donkey Kong said timidly.

"Donkey Kong, everything will be just fine," Diddy Kong soothed. At that point, DK and Diddy came up to a hanging signpost for Stanley's Greens, which was decorated in Christmas ribbons. They had just about reached their destination, and there was a mascot of Olaf from Frozen standing by the door dancing and waving. Diddy then pointed out and beamed, "Look, Donkey Kong! It's Olaf from Frozen!"

"Hi, my name is Olaf and I like warm hugs!" the mascot exclaimed as he opened his arms to hug Diddy Kong. Without hesitation, the young monkey ran up to him and leapt into his arms for a hug, plush doll and all. As the Olaf mascot put Diddy Kong down, Donkey Kong tried to walk past him, but then he stopped and flinched as the mascot opened his arms and shouted out, "Hi, my name is Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

Donkey Kong gave the mascot an annoyed look and coldly said, "DK wanna buy a Christmas tree for his dad."

The mascot hunched over in sadness with his arms down as Donkey Kong turned away, and then Diddy Kong told his big buddy, "Aw, come on Donkey Kong. Lighten up. Give him a hug."

"DK don't want to," Donkey Kong refused.

"Come on," Diddy Kong begged.

"No," Donkey Kong stubbornly replied.

"Donkey Kong," Diddy Kong pleaded.

"No," Donkey Kong repeated, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air.

The Olaf mascot covered his eyes and began to fake cry, and Diddy Kong commented, "Donkey Kong, look, you made him cry. Give him a hug, please, for me."

"But DK already buy Gingerbread Monkey for Diddy," Donkey Kong protested.

"Just do me one more favor and give Olaf a hug," Diddy Kong implored. He thought for a moment and bribed his big buddy, saying, "I'll make you the special Banana Root Beer float at the Kong Christmas party."

"Okay," Donkey Kong relented. He then turned and asked the mascot, "Do Olaf still like warm hugs?"

The mascot then sprung upright with open arms, repeating his catchphrase, "Hi, my name is Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

Donkey Kong quickly hugged the mascot, who then danced happily as the two Kongs entered into Stanley's Greens.

Right after DK and Diddy entered through the doorway, a familiar Brooklyn voice spoke, saying, "Well, look who we've got here."

"Muh-HERR!" Donkey Kong yelped, jumping in fear. He then turned to his left to see a short and slender man with shaggy light brown hair, a bucktooth, a long sleeved blue shirt, white overall long pants, brown work shoes, and a clipboard in his hand. It was none other than Stanley.

Stanley laughed and said, "What's the matter, Donkey Kong? Holiday anxiety?"

"DK just wanna buy a tree for his dad," Donkey Kong nervously replied.

"He's afraid you won't let him because of that whole Cranky Kong fiasco all those years ago," Diddy Kong added, walking up beside his friend.

"Shopping for your dad this time, eh Donkey Kong?" Stanley questioned. With a smile, he said, "For his first Christmas after that whole Pride Lands rescue mission, huh? Well, that's not a problem, IF you sign the contract. Remember the deal, huh?"

Stanley handed the clipboard to Donkey Kong, and on it was a paper that read at the top, " _I, (print name), hereby agree to occupy Stanley's Greens in the most civil manner possible, with the threat of incarceration at the New Donk City Zoo if I do not comply."_

"Oh, almost forgot, pen," Stanley reached into his pocket and extended a black pen to Donkey Kong, which the ape took in his huge left hand. As DK wrote his name in the blank sentence at the top of the contract and proceeded to fill in different areas such as date of birth, mailing address, social security number, and a cursive signature at the bottom, Stanley commented, "Ya know, Donkey Kong, I'm guessing you're more of a cheerful giver this year. I see you got your little buddy that Gingerbread Monkey plush doll. And now you wanna buy one of my Christmas trees for your dad."

"And he gave Olaf a hug outside," Diddy Kong chimed in.

"Oh yeah, today's theme is Frozen," Stanley replied as Donkey Kong finished his signature and handed the pen and clipboard back to him. Stanley held the clipboard in his left hand and signed beneath DK's signature with his right hand and said, "Alright Donkey Kong, you're good to go. No monkey business."

As Donkey Kong made his way off, Diddy Kong acted as the voice of reason for him, saying, "Thank you, Stanley."

Diddy Kong then followed after Donkey Kong, who said to him, "Diddy, DK don't remember where Christmas trees are."

"I do, follow me," Diddy assured DK. The young monkey then led his friend through the first floor and into the backyard, where a young man dressed up as Kristoff was wandering between the Christmas trees.

The young man stopped when he saw DK and Diddy and asked, "Hey Kongs, here to get a Christmas tree?"

"Yes," DK and Diddy simultaneously affirmed.

"DK want a tree for his dad," Donkey Kong added.

"Oh Junior, the one you guys rescued from the Pride Lands," the young man commented. "Yeah, I remember the time when Mayor Pauline called you guys in for a live interview about that, and I read the book that some guy known as Imaginative Believer wrote. Anyways, down to business, follow me."

The two Kongs followed the young man to the back of the middle row, where he tested the branches of a very large pine tree. "Being a big huge gorilla, I'm sure your dad would like this. The branches are very strong from top to bottom. You could put ornaments as heavy as five pounds on each branch. Whataya say? Deal?"

"DK like it," Donkey Kong answered.

"Alright then, this one's a keeper," the young man said as he bagged up the tree in an orange net and handed it to Donkey Kong, who held it over his right shoulder like a sack. "Look for the girl dressed up as Elsa at the front register to pay."

"Donkey Kong, shouldn't we get ornaments for your dad?" Diddy Kong asked his pal.

"DK just about to say," Donkey Kong replied.

"If you want to get ornaments, take the escalator to the second floor," the young man instructed the Kongs.

"Thanks," DK and Diddy said simultaneously.

"Come on Donkey Kong," Diddy Kong said, briefly tugging his friend by the arm.

Both primates then headed to the escalator and took it to the second floor, where there were organized rooms of different materials. There was a young woman dressed up as Anna, standing around and helping give directions.

"Donkey Kong! Diddy Kong! HI!" the young woman cheerfully greeted them, waving.

"Oh hey, Courtney," Diddy Kong replied, recognizing the girl.

"Courtney? DK thought Elsa's sister name Anna," Donkey Kong foolishly said.

Courtney laughed and said, "No, Donkey Kong, I'm not the real Anna. I'm only dressed up as her because today's Christmas theme is Frozen."

"Theme Frozen?" Donkey Kong inquired.

"We're all dressed up as characters from Frozen," Courtney clarified. "When Stanley's kids turned 3 and 4 this year, he came up with an idea to have us dress up as characters from different Christmas or winter themed movies for the first 25 days of December. He's doing it for them. But no, I'm not the real Anna. The real Anna lives in Arendal. It's just me, Courtney."

"Courtney?" Donkey Kong asked, dumbfounded.

"Don't you remember, Donkey Kong?" Diddy Kong interjected. "We see her every year when we come here."

"Yeah, and I still have that selfie I took with you guys a few months ago when you came in for interviews with Mayor Pauline about rescuing Donkey Kong's father," Courtney added. She then pulled out her iPhone and showed Donkey Kong a selfie in which she was holding Diddy Kong on her hip and Donkey Kong stood behind with a hand on her shoulder.

Donkey Kong noticed the exact same facial resemblance, bright green eyes, freckles, and red hair, although Courtney's hair was down and wavy in that picture. Finally recognizing her, Donkey Kong said, "Courtney."

"Yeah," Courtney affirmed with a smile. "Oh Donkey Kong, you're so smart."

Courtney gave Donkey Kong a kiss on the nose, which made him laugh smittenly. She then said to Diddy Kong, "Diddy Kong, I really like your Gingerbread Monkey."

"Thanks Courtney, it's the holiday special from Build-a-Kong," Diddy Kong told Courtney, hugging the plush doll. "Donkey Kong paid for it."

"Donkey Kong, how sweet," Courtney cooed.

"And now DK wanna buy ornaments for his dad," Donkey Kong said.

"Oh yes, I see you've got the tree over your shoulder," Courtney noticed. "Well, the ornaments are on the other side of this floor. You've just got to go around the escalator area."

"Thanks Courtney," DK and Diddy replied.

"Courtney Merry Christmas," Donkey Kong said, hugging Courtney with his free left hand.

"Merry Christmas, Donkey Kong," Courtney warmly answered. She then knelt down to give Diddy Kong a hug before he departed with Donkey Kong. She then called after him, "Merry Christmas to you too, Diddy Kong."

"Merry Christmas Courtney!" Diddy Kong called back as he and Donkey Kong headed into the Christmas decorations room.

Once inside the room, DK and Diddy saw people dressed up as the trolls from Frozen walking around and helping customers. There were many different types of ornaments ranging from figurines, colored glass balls, candy canes, and even miniature teddy bears.

"Hi there," a short and heavyset African-American woman in a troll costume greeted Donkey Kong. "How may I be of assistance?"

"DK wanna buy Christmas ornaments for his dad," Donkey Kong told her. Before the worker could reply, loud African drums began playing in a techno-speaker-like tone. "DK Kong Phone ringing."

Donkey Kong pulled his Kong Phone out of left fur his pocket, answered the call and said, "Hello?"

"Hi Donkey Kong, it's Candy Kong," a feminine voice replied.

Donkey Kong giggled in infatuation and murmured, "Candy."

"Donkey Kong I need you to focus, please," Candy Kong implored.

"What it is, Candy?" Donkey Kong asked.

"Listen, I hope I'm not interfering too much with you and Diddy's trip to New Donk City, but I need both of you back here on DK Island ASAP," Candy Kong urged.

"Everything okay?" Donkey Kong asked.

Candy Kong sighed and explained, "Well, no, not exactly."

"Oh no, what happen? DK's dad get kidnapped again?!" Donkey Kong frantically questioned. Ever since Junior, Donkey Kong's father, had been brought back from the Pride Lands, Donkey Kong had always been slightly paranoid about him going missing again.

"No, Donkey Kong, your father's just fine, he's here with me in the Barrel Factory right now," Candy Kong assured him. "I'll put you on speaker so you can talk to him."

"Hey Donkey Kong, I hope you and Diddy had fun in New Donk City today," Junior's voice spoke.

"DK got a tree for Dad, now DK and Diddy trying to buy ornaments," Donkey Kong told his father.

"Donkey Kong, I already have ornaments that your grandfather saved for me," Junior said. "You can pay for the tree, but your friend Candy and I need you and Diddy back here pronto."

"What it is, Dad?" Donkey Kong inquired.

"Well, Candy and I found two lost Christmas reindeer on our break and they need your help," Junior replied. "Pay for the tree and get back here soon, okay?"

"Okay," Donkey Kong complied. "Love Dad."

"I love you too, Son," Junior sad. "Ba-bye now."

"Bye," Donkey Kong reciprocated, hanging up his Kong Phone and putting it back in his fur pocket. He then told Diddy Kong, "Diddy, DK's Dad and Candy find lost reindeer. DK and Diddy have to go back and help them."

"Shouldn't we pay for the tree first?" Diddy Kong asked.

"That what DK's dad said," Donkey Kong answered.

"So no ornaments then?" the African-American lady asked.

"I'm afraid not, sorry," Diddy Kong told her, answering for Donkey Kong.

"That's okay, things like this happen," the lady replied warmly with a smile. "Good luck to you and Donkey Kong helping the reindeer. Ba-bye now."

"Bye," Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong said as they departed.

Moments later, Diddy Kong was chasing an anxious Donkey Kong through a crowded line at the front register, shouting out, "Donkey Kong! What are you doing?! Stop! You can't cut through a line like that! DONKEY KONG!"

Once standing in face to face with the cashier dressed up as Elsa, Donkey Kong speedily blurted out, "DKNEEDTOPAYFORTREENOWBEFOREGOINGBACKTODKISLANDDK'SDAD ANDCANDYNEED-"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down," the cashier interrupted.

"Our friends and family need us back home right now and Donkey Kong's anxious to pay for the tree so that he and I can leave," Diddy Kong interjected.

"Cash or credit card?" the cashier asked.

"Credit card," DK replied, hastily pulling his wallet out of his right fur pocket and whipped out his credit card and handed it to the cashier.

The cashier hesitantly took and swiped the card, then handed it back to DK. As he put the credit card back in his wallet, and the wallet back in his fur pocket, the cashier began to ask him, "Would you like a-"

"NO! NO RECEIPT! DK AND DIDDY NEED TO GO HELP REINDEER!" Donkey Kong loudly interrupted, fleeing outside of the greenhouse.

"DONKEY KONG, WAIT FOR ME!" Donkey Kong screamed out, running after his buddy.

Once Diddy caught up to DK on the city sidewalks, he breathily snapped, "You're lucky Stanley didn't see you cutting through the line! You would have gotten in trouble!"

"DK HAVE NO CHOICE! DK AND DIDDY HAVE TO GO HELP REINDEER!" Donkey Kong shouted out, causing many people to stop and stare as he and Diddy Kong ran.

***Additional Notes***

1\. New Donk City is from the game, Super Mario Odyssey, for Nintendo Switch. It is a Donkey Kong based caricature of New York City, with many of its locations named after Donkey Kong characters. That is how I came up with FAO Swanky as a substitute for FAO Schwarz and the Rambifeller Center as a substitute for the Rockefeller Center. My family and I have visited both FAO Schwarz and the Rockefeller Center on December trips to New York City.

2\. Build-a-Kong was derived as an inspiration from Build-a-Dino in Disney World, which is basically a dinosaur version (with some prehistoric mammals such as mammoths and sabertooth tigers) of Build-a-Bear at T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney. Since there is an actual Build-a-Bear Workshop in New York City, which my family and I have visited on trips, I decided to create a Build-a-Kong Workshop.

3\. For those who do not know, Stanley the Bugman was the hero in Donkey Kong 3, the third game of the Donkey Kong arcade series. The original Donkey Kong (Cranky Kong) raided a greenhouse with an army of insects, and Stanley the Bugman, an exterminator was hired to get them out. Since Pauline became mayor of New Donk City, I decided to make Stanley the owner/manager of his own metro styled greenhouse in that city.

4\. I'm not a huge Frozen fan, but I decided to have workers dressed up as Frozen characters because I thought it would be interesting and, as weird as this may sound, I'm kind of attracted to Elsa and Anna lol. I initially wanted to have two young female workers dressed up as them take a picture with Diddy, much to DK's annoyance (as it hinders him from buying a tree for his dad), but I felt it would be too distracting and thus disrupt the pace of the story. So I put both Elsa and Anna (young women dressed up as them) in working roles that I thought would best fit them in serving a purpose in this chapter. I did intentionally keep some parts of my original idea as the young lady dressed up as Anna, Courtney, was an old acquaintance of DK and Diddy's (whom DK initially did not recognize) and briefly served as a guide for them in the greenhouse.

5\. The consistent mentions of Donkey Kong's father being rescued from the Pride Lands are a reference to my completed Donkey Kong/Lion King crossover, Kongs in the Pride Lands. This story takes place in the same timeline, sometime after the events of Kongs in the Pride Lands.

6\. I had the young man dressed up as Kristoff mention my author name, Imaginative Believer, having written about the Kongs' adventure in the Pride Lands as an inspiration from Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong remake when Preston tells Carl that Fay Wray is already booked for a project with RKO Pictures, to which Carl replies, "Cooper, huh?" Merian C. Cooper is the writer and director of the original King Kong movie in 1933.

7\. I decided to make Donkey Kong a left-handed writer because I myself and left-handed. Like Donkey Kong in this chapter, I also have a habit of keeping my cellphone in my left pocket (since I hold the phone to my left ear while talking, which is likely due to my left-handed penmanship) and my wallet in my right pocket. So in essence, I put a bit of myself into Donkey Kong since he is my favorite character in Nintendo and in this story. It also works perfectly because Donkey Kong is a southpaw puncher with his Giant Punch attack in Super Smash Bros Melee and is also a left-handed batter in the Mario Baseball games (using a boxing glove instead of a bat).


	2. Chapter 2

_(At the Barrel Factory on DK Island)_

"I just hope everyone else is okay, Junior," a familiar brown, red-nosed reindeer told a large, husky brown gorilla in a fresh, white sleeveless shirt with a white blue "J" logo and dark gray camouflage shorts.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Rudolph," Junior assured the young buck. "My son, Donkey Kong was worried that I got kidnapped again when Candy Kong called him moments ago, but I was right here with her A-okay. And even if your friends are in danger, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong can help them. I know they can."

"It's good they're reliable, because they're our only hope," a cream-colored female reindeer wearing a red polka-dot bow said.

"They've been on many adventures together, Clarice, and always came out on top," Junior told the young doe. "Including the time when they, some of the other Kongs, and the Pride Landers rescued me from Ghastly King in the Elephant Graveyard."

"Oh yeah, Santa told us all about that in Christmas Town last month," Rudolph recalled.

"Really?" Junior asked.

"Yeah," Clarice affirmed. "This year, the elves had to manufacture a lot of books and comics about it. Santa said a lot of people were asking for them this year."

"I got some water for you guys," a female Kong spoke up, carrying a broken barrel piece containing water toward them. This lady Kong was a very attractive one. Slender and curvy with pinkish brown fur, thick blonde hair just below shoulder length, lavender eye shadow, thick lips with pink lipstick, a pink bikini top with "Candy" written on the front in white letters, and pink mini-shorts with a belt.

"Thanks, Candy," Rudolph and Clarice said to her in unison as she placed the water down in front of them so that they could drink.

Rudolph and Clarice began drinking for a few seconds, until… BAM! A familiar old Kong barged in, catching the attention of Rudolph, Clarice, Junior, and Candy Kong. This old Kong looked very grouchy. Relatively short, frail, and hunchbacked with glasses, a long white beard, a sleeveless, purplish tan sweater for clothing and a cane for walking. This Kong was most cantankerous old ape on DK Island, and the biggest scrooge in holiday season, Cranky Kong.

"HEY JUNIOR!" Cranky Kong shouted. "WHERE'S DONKEY KONG AND DIDDY KONG, I CAN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE!"

"Dad, they went to New Donk City," Junior answered his father. "They do this together every year. I told you that last week."

"Well, I must have forgot," Cranky Kong said. He then proceeded to rant, "AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO TELL ME! Oooh boy, I'm gonna kill 'em when they get back!"

"You know, Cranky, maybe there's a reason they don't tell you stuff," Candy Kong suggested.

"Well in that case, Brandy, they're gonna have a LOT of explaining to do!" Cranky Kong retorted. He then began to approach Rudolph and Clarice, saying, "And may I ask… what's with the reindeer?! Oh, don't tell me I was called to be the next Santa Claus."

"No, Dad, you weren't," Junior told his dad.

"Well that's a relief," Cranky Kong remarked, stopping beside Rudolph and Clarice.

"Besides, you've been on the Naughty List since that whole Mario fiasco," Junior reminded Cranky Kong. "And you've recently said it to me fifteen times."

"And that's one of several indictments I have against Santa Claus!" Cranky Kong snapped.

"I'm curious to know what other 'indictments' you have, Cranky Kong," Candy Kong said, incredulously, bending her fingers on the word "indictments."

"I'll tell ya later, but for now, let's get rid of the reindeer!" Cranky rambled. He then turned to Rudolph and Clarice, saying, "Go on, shoo! Beat it! Back to the North Pole!"

"We can't go back!" Rudolph protested.

"Can't go back? Alright then, perhaps your heads will make nice trophies on my wall!" Cranky Kong menaced, raising his cane to strike the two reindeer. Clarice hid behind Rudolph, and Rudolph readied his antlers to fight.

"CRANKY!" two voices cried out. Cranky and the reindeer turned to see Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong running in through the doorway.

"Well, there you two whippersnappers are!" Cranky Kong snapped.

Sliding in between Cranky and the reindeer, Diddy Kong scolded, "Cranky Kong, you CAN'T hit them! They're Christmas reindeer!"

"Christmas Schmistmas, bah humbug!" Cranky Kong rebuffed. "I hate Christmas!"

"Why Cranky hate Christmas?" Donkey Kong innocently asked.

"I've told you a bazillion times, you ding dong, search your memory!" Cranky Kong hollered.

"Dad, do NOT talk to my son like that!" Junior assertively interjected.

"Everybody stop!" Rudolph shouted out. "Clarice and I didn't want this. There was a giant walrus creature, with an army of snow animal vikings, who took over Christmas Town and blasted us out with some of our friends and family and-"

"Lord Fredrik!" DK and Diddy gasped.

"The Snowmads!" Cranky squawked.

"Wait a minute, are Lord Fredrik and the Snowmads the ones who did this?" Clarice inquired.

"Yes," Diddy Kong affirmed. "On Donkey Kong's birthday last year, we were having a celebration in DK's treetop home. Me, DK, Cranky, and my girlfriend Dixie. Just as Donkey Kong was about to blow out the candle on his cake, it was already blown out by chilly winds. Then we all went outside to see what it was, and there was Lord Fredrik and the Snowmads. With his large horn, Fredrik blasted us all out of Kongo Jungle, the island region that we're in, and we all had to go on an adventure to get back home and overthrow Lord Fredrik."

"And DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky succeed," Donkey Kong added with a smile, crossing his huge, muscular arms.

"And I helped!" Cranky Kong commented.

"I guess that's something good he did," Candy Kong snidely remarked to Junior.

"Shut it, Sandy!" Cranky Kong growled, pointing his cane at her.

"Guys, we need you to help us find our friends and get back to Christmas Town," Rudolph urged. "We were promised that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong would help us."

"DK help then," Donkey Kong complied.

"I'll help too," Diddy Kong said.

"Not without me!" Cranky Kong demanded. "Not like last time when you went off to the Pride Lands without even telling me!"

"Unfortunately, Candy and I have to stay here and work," Junior lamented.

"Our break ends in five minutes," Candy Kong added.

The door to the factory opened and in came a young female ape, around Diddy Kong's size, with light brown fur, blonde hair with a thick ponytail and bangs, bright green eyes, long eyelashes, a pink outfit that consisted of a beret, a top tied in a knot above her half exposed belly, and cloth bands around her knees.

"Hey everyone, I just heard that there are reindeer in here and I had to come in and see!" the young female ape beamed.

"Dixie," Diddy Kong said to her, his girlfriend. "Lord Fredrik took over Christmas Town and blew them out with some of their friends. DK, Cranky and I are going to help them."

"Count me in!" Dixie Kong squealed. She then ran up to her boyfriend, held out a piece of mistletoe and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, whataya know, Donkey Kong, we've got a Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze Reunion," Cranky Kong commented to Donkey Kong. "Only with two reindeer as additional party members."

"I love your Gingerbread Monkey doll, Diddy Kong, where did you get that?" Dixie Kong inquired about the plush toy that Diddy Kong had gotten from Build-a-Kong Workshop in New Donk City.

"Diddy Kong, I should probably hold onto that so you don't lose it on your adventure," Candy Kong interjected.

"Okay," Diddy Kong complied as he handed Candy Kong his Gingerbread Monkey.

"DK leave Christmas tree with Dad," Donkey Kong said as he handed the large Christmas tree over to Junior.

"Hahaha, okay son, be safe," Junior laughed.

"Alright then," Cranky Kong spoke up. He then jumped on Rudolph's back, pointed his cane out and shouted, "Let's go save the holiday I hate!"

Rudolph bucked Cranky Kong off, making everyone laugh.

"STOP LAUGHING!" Cranky Kong screamed.

"I'm not giving you a ride," Rudolph told him. "Not for the way you treated me and Clarice earlier."

"And don't even think about jumping on _my_ back," Clarice added. "Why do you even want to come with us if you hate Christmas?"

"Because I like adventure, it gives my old self something to do, and perhaps this good deed of mine will get Santa to put me on the Nice List for once and give me the massage chair that I always wanted," Cranky Kong explained. He then turned to Donkey Kong and rudely requested, "Hey, Donkey Kong, give your old Cranky a lift, will ya?"

Donkey Kong looked at Diddy Kong, who shook his head no, and then said, "Cranky going to walk."

Junior and Candy Kong were trying very hard not to laugh as Cranky Kong bemoaned, "Gah, I hate my life."

"Thanks for your hospitality, Junior and Candy!" Rudolph called back to Junior and Candy Kong as he departed with Clarice, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong.

"Yeah, thanks!" Clarice called, giving thanks over her own.

"You're welcome!" Candy Kong replied.

"Be safe!" Junior added.

"Bye now!" Junior and Candy said in unison.

"Bye!" Rudolph, Clarice, DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky reciprocated as they left through the door.

Once outside, Clarice told Rudolph, "Rudolph, this is it. Our first adventure in the jungle."

***Additional Notes***

1\. In the beginning of the chapter, I described Junior's "J" shirt as being fresh in an indirect reference to Kongs in the Pride Lands, in which his shirt was worn and dirty when DK and Diddy first found him. By the time of this story, probably by the time of my last chapter of KITPL as a matter of fact, he either washed his shirt or got a new one. I didn't decide yet, but logically speaking, it would probably be the latter.

2\. Lord Fredrik and the Snowmads were the antagonists of Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze for Wii U, and DK, Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky were the playable heroes (as Cranky Kong indirectly referenced in his description of a "Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze reunion" when Dixie Kong joined the adventure).

3\. Donkey Kong calls Cranky Kong "Cranky" instead of "Grandpa" because, as I explained in my Donkey Kong/Lion King crossover, Cranky tried to get Baby DK to call him "Grampy Kong," but Baby DK called him "Cranky Kong." That, in my own headcanon, is how Cranky Kong changed his name from Donkey Kong (Sr.) to Cranky Kong when he got old.


	3. Chapter 3

_(Deep in the Panther Grounds of Kongo Jungle)_

"Waaaah! Waaaah! Waaaah!" A lone panther cub sat alone in the jungle, letting out mewing cries with a scrap of meat stuck in his teeth.

The nearest person who could help was an elf who had a passion for dental work. He wore a blue elf hat and suit, long magenta pants, and black shoes. Underneath his blue hat as swirly blonde hair. His ears were round and his big white eyes had innocent black pupils. He was the North Pole dentist, Hermey the Elf.

"Goodness gracious!" Hermey remarked with compassion and concern for the cub. Pulling out his dental floss, he said, "It's a good thing I always have my floss handy."

The elf then approached the crying cub, saying, "Shhh. It's okay, little kitty, I'm your friend. Now hold still, this won't hurt a bit."

Kneeling in front of the cub, Hermey weaved his floss in between the cub's teeth, above the scrap of meat, and PLUCK! The piece of meat was free from the cub's teeth. The grateful little kitten nuzzled Hermey and purred as Hermey embraced him.

"That's a nice kitty," Hermey whispered affectionately.

"RAWR!" An angry panther mother pounced into the scene, alarming both Hermey and the cub. The cub went up to his mother and tried to explain, in mewing language, that Hermey helped him, but SCHWACK! The mother swatted her cub into a nearby bush. She then turned to Hermey and tried to pounce at him.

"WOAH!" Hermey screamed, diving underneath the pouncing wild cat to evade her attack. While Hermey was down, the cub slid him a stick from the bush. Hermey grabbed it, scrambled to his feet, turned around to face the panther mother as she circled him, growling menacingly. Hermey shuffled his feet in a circular motion to keep an eye on her as he shakily pointed his stick, stammering the words, "S-s-stay back. I-I-I-I-I'm warning you. I-I'll use this stick if I have to."

The panther mother stopped and gave a hissing, sinister laugh. She then slowly approached Hermey, which caused him to go into a frenzy as he tried multiple times to strike her face with his stick. She effortlessly dodged the swings and eventually swatted the stick out of Hermey's hand with her right paw. She then pinned him to the ground, much to the horror of her cub.

"HELP!" Hermey cried out as the mother closed in, breathing her hot breath on him and licking his face in a malicious, taunting manner.

"GROOOOOO-OO-OO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OO!" an ape-like Tarzan yell echoed.

The panther mother looked up to see Donkey Kong swinging toward her on a vine. BAM! Donkey Kong kicked her off of Hermey and sent her tumbling several yards away. Diddy Kong landed from a flight with his barrel jetpack, Dixie Kong from a swirling glide with her ponytail, Cranky Kong from a martial arts jump as he readied himself in a fighting stance, and Rudolph and Clarice from their magical Christmas reindeer flight. DK tried to intimidate the panther mother with hooting, screaming, ground slamming and chest beating. Once the mother panther finished scrambling to her feet, she defiantly hissed at Donkey Kong, refusing to back down.

"Hermey! Hermey are you okay?!" Rudolph frantically asked Hermey, running up next to him.

Hermey sat up and replied, "Well, it's a good thing you guys made friends with Donkey Kong."

"RAH-AH-RAWR!" the panther mother roared at Donkey Kong.

"WUUUUHHRAWR!" Donkey Kong roared back.

"RAH-AH-AH-AOW!" the panther mother roared loudly, throwing her head back. Suddenly, many other panthers were seen emerging out of rocky caves and walking along nearby branches.

The mother panther hissed a sinister giggle and pounced at Donkey Kong, knocking him to the ground. DK quickly threw her off and brawled with her as the other panthers leapt down to attack Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, Hermey, Rudolph, and Clarice. Diddy Kong fortunately had his peanut popguns handy as he maneuvered around the panthers in a ninja-like manner, shooting at them. Dixie Kong did the same with her own gumball popguns. Cranky Kong fought the panthers hand-to-hand with his cane and martial arts skills. Rudolph attacked the panthers with his hooves and antlers. Clarice did the same, only without antlers. Unconfident in his ability to fight the panthers, Hermey sat curled up in fetal position, hoping that his friends would prevail against the wild cats.

Eventually, Donkey Kong threw the mother panther away from him with one arm. Then she charged back and pounced in the air. While she was in midair, DK wound up his Giant Punch and POW! Sent her flying off into the sky, stopping and catching the attention of the other panthers as DK turned toward them with a glare.

"RHAAAAAAAAAAHUROARAHR!" Donkey Kong let out a loud roar that sounded like a deep-voiced monkey scream, slamming six booming thumps to his chest.

Intimidated by what the ape could do to _them_ , the panthers all ran off and hid. The panther cub then ran out of the bush to reunite with Hermey, nuzzling and licking him. Hermey took the cub in his arms and embraced him.

"Panthers dangerous," Donkey Kong told Hermey.

"Not like those lions you met in the Pride Lands I guess, but this little guy is friendly," Hermey replied. "I helped him get a scrap of meat out of his teeth, and now he loves me."

"Yeah well it's only a matter of time before that adorable little cub grows into a bloodthirsty maneater," Cranky Kong rambled. "Then he'll turn around and bite the hands you're nurturing him with, if ya get what I'm saying."

The cub looked at Cranky and shook his head in disbelief. Cranky Kong then suggested, "I say we go drown him in Pristine Sea while we have a chance."

"Cranky Kong, you can't do that, he's just a cub!" Dixie Kong protested.

"We could at least return him to his mother," Diddy Kong proposed.

"But panther cub's mother mean," Donkey Kong interjected.

"He's right," Hermey affirmed. He then went on to explain, "The cub tried to explain to her that I helped him, but she swatted him into a bush. She's obviously an abusive mother. She even laughed evilly during our confrontation with her."

"Yes, many panthers in Kongo Jungle evil," Donkey Kong added. "Kill for power and pleasure. Extremely territorial too."

"So it's probably best that we don't leave the cub here to be influenced by them," Hermey said.

"What are we going to do with the cub then?" Clarice asked.

"I'll take care of him," Hermey answered.

"Hermey, have you lost your mind?!" Rudolph questioned anxiously.

"Rudolph, if Yukon tamed Bumble, and we all took him in as a member of the Christmas Town community, I'm sure I could raise this little guy in the innocence he has now," Hermey replied. "I think he'd make great friends with Yukon's sled dogs, and I could use him as a therapy panther for my dental clients. That is, of course, assuming we can successfully overthrow Lord Fredrik when we get back to Christmas Town."

"Okay Hermey, I just hope Santa would be okay with it," Rudolph told him cautiously.

"I think everything will be just fine," Hermey responded. "I think I'll name this little guy… Lucky."

The newly named Lucky nuzzled Hermey, obviously taking a liking to the name choice.

"Well I hope we GET lucky with less chaos on our trek!" Cranky Kong rambled.

"DK and friends must continue on, let's go!" Donkey Kong beckoned the others.

On that note, Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, Rudolph, Clarice, Hermey, and Lucky all followed after DK, continuing their search for more of Rudolph and Clarice's missing friends from Christmas Town.

***Additional Notes***

1\. As I forgot to mention in my last chapter, in light of Diddy Kong's reference, Kongo Jungle is the region of DK Island that Donkey Kong and all the other Kongs who appear in the games live in. I completely made up the Panther Grounds in Kongo Jungle, just for something different. I was considering using Mugly, one of the bosses from Donkey Kong Country Returns, instead of the panthers. I decided not to because his teeth are too spread apart, and his four different attacks and three levels of rage would have made this chapter more difficult for me to write.

2\. Donkey Kong's Tarzan yell was used in various games, most notably Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for Nintendo GameCube. Two of his roars, which I translated into dialogue, were from Toho's King Kong. With the voice that Donkey Kong has had since Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, I thought it could be harmonized with Toho King Kong's roars, some medium-pitched gorilla sound effects, and his sound effects from Super Smash Bros Melee.

3\. The fight with the panthers was partly derived as an inspiration from an episode of Disney's Legend of Tarzan, "A Lost Cub," in which there was a fight with the leopards at the end when Jane and Kala tried to return a lost leopard cub, and a black jaguar chase scene in Emperor's New Groove.

4\. Diddy Kong has used his barrel jetpack and peanut popguns in various Donkey Kong and Smash Bros games, and Dixie Kong has used her gumball popguns in Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze. I didn't give Cranky Kong is denture popguns from DKCRTF because I thought it would make the fight too comical, and I wanted him to use the martial arts skills he showed at the end of Kongs in the Pride Lands (my Donkey Kong/Lion King crossover).

5\. Pristine Sea, which Cranky Kong referenced, is the second level of the Pineapple Kingdom in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

6\. Bumble is the name, for short, that Yukon Cornelius gave for the Abominable Snow Monster in Rankin/Bass's Rudolph movie. Bumble turned good after surviving a fall from a cliff with Yukon Cornelius and his sled dogs, and Yukon even brought him to Santa's castle to place a star on top of the Christmas Tree. Bumble was also one of the supporting characters in the 2001 sequel, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys.


	4. Chapter 4

_(On Monkey Mountains)_

"Hey, stop wranglin' my Bumble, you evil tiger lady, or you'll be sorry!" a tied up prospector hollered as his pet yeti was being thrown and wrestled around by an anthropomorphic tigress in front of a pool of snow monkeys.

The man was husky in a blue winter jacket and pants, black boots, ret winter hat, ear muffs, and an auburn goatee with a squiggly mustache. He was none other than the North Pole's most determined prospector, Yukon Cornelius.

His yeti, Bumble, was gigantic, with with the traditional white fur and skin to go with it, and friendly looking with dentures to replace a mouthful of sharp teeth that had once been pulled out by Hermey.

Bumble's attacking tigress was so attractive yet so deadly. Her bright green eyes, braided blonde hair, black eye makeup an lipstick, and curvy muscular physique (covered in a blue bodysuit) were so alluring. She was not gigantic, yet much bigger than Donkey Kong and capable of pummeling creatures much bigger than herself. She was known as Mother Siberia.

The Snow Monkeys watched Mother Siberia attack Bumble, not knowing to fear her or admire her beauty and feminine strength.

BAM! Mother Siberia slammed a crying Bumble down in front of the Snow Monkeys' pool and seductively taunted them in her Russian accent, "So I showed you monkeys what will happen if you don't let me have pool. Would you be so kind to exit for me? Or I wrangle you too."

"Mother Siberia," a swoon voice spoke up.

The tigress then turned to see Donkey Kong hunched over, admiring her. She was initially annoyed, recognizing him from one of her circus performances during Ghastly King's reign, but then thought to herself and seduced him, "Oh Donkey Kong. You still admire me after all these years? Even after I mauled you and your friends at circus?"

"Yahhhhahahahaha," Donkey Kong babbled.

"I'm so flattered, come hither... so can kiss you," Mother Siberia alluringly beckoned, leaning forward and curling a finger toward her.

As Donkey Kong slowly approached the tigress, Bumble got up and started screaming and waving his arms "no." The snow monkeys hooted and screamed in warning. Even Yukon Cornelius shouted out, "Don't do it, monkey, that tigress will kill ya!"

Donkey Kong's mind was so clouded with infatuation that he lost all common sense and could not think straight. Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Rudolph, Clarice, Hermey, and Lucky all ascended up the mountain and watched in horror. Once Donkey Kong got close enough, Mother Siberia took him by the tie, almost kissed him, but then suddenly whirled him around behind her and BONK! She knocked him over the mountain side with her big round bottom.

"BAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Donkey Kong let out a passaggio-esque scream as he fell, silencing Bumble and the Snow Monkeys.

Mother Siberia looked over and watched Donkey Kong fall, saying, "Hmhmhm, sucker."

"HEY!" Cranky Kong barked, having finally made it up the mountain. Mother Russia turned her head back to face him as he pointed his cane at her, saying, "What did you do with my Donkey Kong?!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Cranky Kong," Mother Siberia taunted. "You look even more frail than when I last saw you."

"Don't underestimate me, lady," Cranky Kong answered. "I'd been training myself in martial arts ever since I started getting old. I may not have the brawn of my virtually brainless grandson, but if I took you out once, I can do it again."

"Even after I just wrangled yeti and knocked Donkey Kong over mountain side?" Mother Siberia casually bantered, casually sharpening her fingernails on a flat pink stick.

Resorting to brains over brawns, Cranky Kong thought to himself, then pointed out with a shout, "WHAT'S THAT?!"

As Mother Tigress turned her head, Cranky Kong, using his cane for leverage, flung himself at her neck, knocking both her and himself down the mountain side.

"Yukon, are you and Bumble okay?" Rudolph asked as he, Clarice, Hermey, Lucky, Diddy Kong, and Dixie Kong approached.

"That nasty ol' tiger lady's got me tied up and just gave Bumble a pretty bad beatin'," Yukon complained. Bumble nodded in agreement. "That big brown gorilla didn't seem to bright as he fell hook, line, and sinker for her wiles, but it looks like his grandfather's got 'er. Any rate, can someone help me outta this stinkin' rope?"

"We'll help!" Diddy and Dixie answered in unison as they went to untie Yukon's tight ropes.

Meanwhile, Mother Siberia and Cranky Kong crashed at the bottom of the mountain side, where Donkey Kong was gradually regaining consciousness in a bank of snow. Both foes staggered to their feet and readied themselves in their fighting stances. Mother Siberia was the first to attack as she charged at Cranky Kong, roaring, and attempted to slash him with her right paw. Cranky ducked, and then did a backflip as she tried to swipe him with her left paw. She pounced at him, but he leapt over her with a barrel rolling jump. The large tigress rolled onto her feet, hastily whirled around to face Cranky Kong and attempted to roundhouse kick him, only for the elderly ape to evade by jumping over her foot. She attempted another swipe with her left paw, which met the blunt end of Cranky's cane. When she used her right paw on him, he blocked again with a kick from his foot. Cranky then dodged as she leaned over and attempted to bite him. Noticing Mother Siberia's braided ponytail leaning over her right shoulder, Cranky Kong charged, took hold of it, and used it to swing himself onto her shoulders so that he could use her tied hair to strangle her.

"YEEHAW!" Cranky Kong shouted out, waving his cane in the air.

Struggling for breath, Mother Siberia grabbed hold of her ponytail and tugged it off from around her neck to yank Cranky Kong off her shoulders. She grabbed the elderly ape, punted him in the air with her knee, and then BOOM! She drop kicked him back down toward the ground. Cranky fell fast from her kick, but fortunately reacted quick enough to soften his fall with a cane bounce. As Cranky bounced in midair… POW! She palmed him and sent him tumbling a few yards. Mother Siberia charged, roaring, and lunged for Cranky Kong, right fist raised to strike him into the ground. He rolled out of the way as she slammed her fist into the ground. Using his cane, he then flung himself at her left hip and delivered a powerful push kick, causing her to roar out in pain. Sliding under her, Cranky used the blunt end of his cane to strike Mother Siberia in the chest and knock her onto her back. He then leapt over her, with his cane positioned over his head as if to impale her, but she caught him in one hand and slammed him hard against a slanted rock wall of another mountain side.

Mother Siberia maliciously licked Cranky Kong's face and and taunted him, saying, "Goodnight, Sugar."

Before she could make her next move, Cranky Kong jabbed her bulky forearm with the sharp end of his cane. Mother Siberia, roaring in pain, was forced to let him go. As she clutched her forearm, Cranky backflipped on the wall and bounced off of it to front kick her in the forehead and sent her tumbling backward. Quickly recovering, she got on all fours, growling, but Cranky Kong charged, and uppercut her chin with a leaping front kick. Mother Siberia somersaulted backward onto her feet, but before she could do anything, Cranky Kong slammed her right foot with his cane, then whirled around to strike her popliteal area with it, forcing her to her knee. He sent her sliding forward with a powerful jab to her large buttocks from the blunt end of his cane. Doing a barrel jump through the air, he pinned her tail down under the sharp end of his cane, emitting another roar of pain. To finish off Mother Siberia, Cranky put his cane aside, grabbed her tail, and swung her around by it, faster and faster until he finally let go and sent her flying off, screaming, into the distance.

"Heh, heh, I've still got some power left after all these years," Cranky Kong bragged to himself.

Donkey Kong, who had fully recovered from his unconsciousness, looked on as Mother Siberia vanished out of sight and said, "DK never knew Mother Siberia could fly."

Cranky Kong hastily walked up, whacked his grandson over the head with his cane from behind, and scolded him, saying, "YOU GREAT BIG NITWIT! HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING SINCE THE TIME I SAVED YOU AND YOUR KNUCKLEHEAD FRIENDS FROM HER AT THE CIRCUS YEARS AGO?!"

Before DK could answer, Bumble bounced into the scene, frontside down with Yukon, Hermey, Lucky, Diddy, and Dixie on his back as Rudolph and Clarice flew down gracefully.

This caught the attention of both DK and Cranky, as Cranky interrogated, "Do you wimps need me to kill the stinkin' yeti too?!"

"No need old monkey, this Bumble's friendly," Yukon answered as he and the others slid off of Bumble's back, and Bumble rose up on his feet. "And 'e bounces. Makes landing softer, and more fun when ya need it."

"Just FYI, ESKIMO MAN, I'm not a monkey, I'm an APE!" Cranky Kong snapped. "And the name's CRANKY KONG, not OLD MONKEY!"

"I'll tell ya what, if ya call me by my real name, then I'll call you by yours!" Yukon retorted.

"Yukon, I wouldn't fight with him, he's EXTREMELY belligerent," Clarice interjected.

"Pfft, Yukon? HAH! Who names their kid YUKON?!" Cranky Kong scoffed.

"Full name's Yukon CORNELIUS!" Yukon argued. "Yukon's my nickname."

"That's enough!" Rudolph shouted.

"He's right," Hermey affirmed. "Instead of fighting, we all need to work together and find the others."

"Others?" Cranky Kong inquired. "How many more of you holiday freaks are out here?!"

"It doesn't matter, Cranky Kong!" Diddy Kong chastised.

"They need our help, so we have to help them!" Dixie Kong added.

"We go on adventure with Rudolph and Clarice, and we gotta finish," Donkey Kong said.

"Well, look at YOU being all wise and stuff now!" Cranky Kong scorned his grandson.

"Well, perhaps he's learned from his mistake from Mother Siberia," Hermey suggested. "Either way, we NEED Donkey Kong. He's played a huge role in saving me from that nasty mother panther. And Lucky too."

Lucky then nuzzled Hermey's leg, purring, and then Yukon remarked, "Awww, say, would ya look at that? Even the little cubby agrees."

"Well then, I take that as a sign that we should continue on our journey," Rudolph said.

On that note, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Rudolph, Clarice, Hermey, Lucky, Yukon, and Bumble all continued on in their journey to find the other missing folks from Christmas Town.

***Additional Notes***

1\. Monkey Mountains was one of the playable worlds in "Donkey Kong Land." It is a string of rocky mountains with bits of snow here and there (especially on the cliffs and mountain tops). For geographic locations, I am referring to a DK Island map that Marhiin made on DeviantArt (all credit goes to him or her for that).

2\. Mother Siberia is one of my OC's. In my head, I made up a story that Donkey Kong had a crush on her as a teenager during Ghastly King's reign. So much so, that he, Funky Kong and some friends went to the circus and tried to hook DK up with her, only to get mauled. Fortunately, Cranky Kong swooped into the scene just in time to save them. Cranky Kong and Mother Siberia had a rematch in this chapter, and Cranky won… again ;).

3\. The move that Mother Siberia used to knock Donkey Kong over the mountain side was inspired by one of Princess Peach's grab moves in the Super Smash Bros games (tilting the control stick in her opposite direction while she holds the opponent) in which she pulls the opponent behind her and bonks them with her butt to send them flying backward.

4\. Bumble bouncing in the gorge, with the others on his back, to meet DK and Cranky was inspired by a fact that Yukon Cornelius gave about yetis toward the end of Rankin/Bass's 1964 Rudolph special, "Didn't I ever tell ya about Bumbles? Bumbles BOUNCE!" That was how Yukon and his team of sled dogs survived falling into a snowy abyss with Bumble, in efforts to protect Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice, Donner, and Mrs. Donner, at the climax of the film.


	5. Chapter 5

_(In the Jungle Region of Vine Valley)_

"WEE! YEEHAW! OO, OO, AH, AH, AH!" Deep in the jungle region of vine valley, three reindeer were tangled up in vines. Two of them were brown males, one of them wearing a blue and red baseball cap and a whistle around his neck. The third one was a cream-colored female. On their backs and swinging around them were a fleet of red-eyed, four-armed, literal half arachnid spider monkeys.

"This is simply humiliating, Donner, right-right!" the reindeer in a cap and whistle necklace complained to the other male.

"I just hope that Tarzan, King Kong, or somebody can get us outta this mess, Comet!" Donner answered.

"Oh Donner, wherever our Rudolph ended up, I hope he's alright," the female, Mrs. Donner, lamented.

"MOM! POP! COACH COMET!" a voice shouted out. All the monkeys paused as Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Coach Comet turned to see Rudolph flying into the scene with his red nose glowing and Hermey and Lucky on his back. Clarice followed with Yukon on her back, and Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, and Bumble swinging on the vines (the vines were surprisingly strong enough to support Bumble's weight).

The bright light from Rudolph's nose caused the monkeys to gnash their teeth and screech as it shone in their faces, thus prompting them to climb higher up on the vines. Once everyone got close enough, Bumble tore the vines that held Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Comet from their branches.

"And for all these years, I thought we were done fighting our own kind ever since that whole Manky Kong fiasco," Cranky Kong remarked.

Suddenly, there was an uproar of angry screeching as all the spider monkeys piled on Bumble like a swarm of bees as their combined mass caused him to lose grip and fall into the dark jungle abyss with Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Coach Comet by their vines in his hand.

"REEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!" Bumble screamed.

"BUMBLE!" Yukon cried out.

"We've got to go down and help them!" Rudolph urged.

On that note, Rudolph and Clarice flew down into the abyss with Hermey, Lucky, and Yukon, and the Kongs lowered themselves with them.

Moments later, Bumble landed hard at the bottom of the abyss, where many torches were lit and the spider monkeys dispersed into rocky auditorium like seats. Bumble staggered to his feet, ripped the remaining vines off of Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Coach Comet, set them down on the ground, and readied himself for action as all the spider monkeys began hooting and screeching. Soon enough, a gigantic black, hairy spider with a thick streak of red on its back, and matching red eyes, came crawling out of a rocky cave.

All three reindeer were terrified at the sight as Coach Comet fearfully remarked, "Great bouncing icebergs! That must be their deity!"

Even Bumble expressed fear of the giant arachnid, trembling and nibbling on his sharp black fingernails with his pearly white dentures. The spider roared loudly, causing Bumble to jump. The arachnid deity glared at Bumble through his multiple red eyes, and Bumble knew he had no choice but to fight. Even though he had gotten pummeled earlier by Mother Siberia, he had to at least TRY to protect the three reindeer that he rescued. After all, his dignity had suffered enough through that experience, for he was once a ferocious, bloodthirsty monster. He had to reawaken that part of him somehow, but this time, use it for good.

"RRAAAAAAGHHHRR! AAAAHH-AOWR!" Bumble let out a loud chest rumbling roar, pounding his fists on his chest, and then a falsetto roar following after.

Bumble and the giant spider gave a mutual charge, and Bumble restrained his foe's front legs in his two hands. Bumble then violently rotated the giant arachnid to the side and flipped it on its back. Quickly recovering, the deity rolled back onto its eight legs, charged at Bumble and knocked him down with a pounce, only to be flipped off as Bumble did a backward somersault. Once Bumble stood up on his hind legs, the giant spider jumped on his back, only to be grabbed and thrown off over the yeti's head. Bumble then leapt onto his enemy's back and pulled its head backward toward himself by the incisors.

"YEAH, GET 'EM BUMBLE!" Yukon cheered as he, Clarice, Rudolph, Hermey, Lucky, and the Kongs landed in the arena.

"Mom! Pop! Coach Comet!" Rudolph exclaimed as he ran up to them, with all of his comrades (except for Bumble) following.

The Spider Monkeys were enraged at the sight as they poured into the arena to attack the ones who interrupted their rodeo time on Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Coach Comet.

Rudolph shone his nose brightly at the Spider Monkeys in front of him, keeping them at bay as he approached his parents and coach. However, his friends were struggling to fend off the monkeys that were charging in from behind as they began to jump on Rudolph and distract him.

"FIGHT!" Yukon shouted as he delivered swinging strikes with his pickaxe to surrounding Spider Monkeys. Donkey Kong pummeled them with his fists. Diddy Kong flew around with his barrel jetpack and shot them with his peanut popguns. Dixie Kong jumped, rolled, and dodged as she shot the monkeys with her gumball popguns. Cranky Kong fought the pests hand-to-hand with his cane and martial arts skills. Hermey held Lucky in his left arm and swung a large toothbrush in his right, striking any monkeys that he could. Rudolph, Clarice, Donner, Mrs. Donner, and Coach Comet rolled, back kicked, front hooved, and rammed antlers and heads into whatever monkeys that they could.

Meanwhile, the giant spider had Bumble pinned down, and the yeti was struggling to restrain its infectious jaws. Eventually, Bumble kicked his sharp toenails into his enemy's underside, rolled themselves over so that he was on top and the spider was on his back, dug his sharp fingernails into its throat and pulled out yellow flesh, causing it to let out a shrill cry as it died. All of the Spider Monkeys stopped silent for one moment, and then dispersed, fleeing and climbing in different directions until they were all gone.

"Mom, Pop, Coach Comet!" Rudolph beamed.

"Oh Rudolph," Mrs. Donner sighed in relief as she and her son approached each other and nuzzled. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Way to go, son," Donner congratulated.

"You did a fine job fighting, Rudy, right-right," Coach Comet commented.

"What's this? More reindeer?! How many more of you suckers are out here?!" Cranky Kong demanded.

"Hey, listen pal, you're lucky I'm courteous enough to give you a warning, cause if it were Blitzen you were mouthing off to instead of me, you'd be soil on the ground!" Donner growled, head lowered with his antlers brandished.

"Donner, please, we just finished a highly chaotic battle, we mustn't start another one," Mrs. Donner implored.

"It's Cranky Kong, he keeps saying rude things to everyone and making them mad," Rudolph interjected.

"Well gee thanks, Beacon Buck!" Cranky Kong scorned.

"We're so sorry about this everyone, really, we don't know why he behaves like this," Diddy Kong apologized.

"He's been the black sheep in our family for years!" Dixie Kong complained.

"Well I'm old, so what do you expect?!" Cranky Kong excused himself. Turning to Dixie Kong, and pointing his cane at her, he rambled on, "And 'scuse you, PIPSY, but I'm an ape! not some woolly ungulate with an unusual melanin complexion!"

Donkey Kong then seized Cranky Kong and put a gag in his mouth, restraining him in a bulky arm and causing him to squawk hysterically with his mouth full.

"It's a good thing I always carried that thing with me," Yukon proudly smiled, fists on his hips. "Just in case. I thought I might lend it to our pal, Donkey Kong, to use for good purposes."

Donkey Kong then winked with a smile and gave a thumbs up.

"It'll keep him from bothering us for a while, that's for sure," Clarice added.

"I might have to check his teeth later, just to make sure they're not chipped or damaged in any way," Hermey said.

"You're lucky this elf's got a passion for dental work, Cranky," Donner scoffed. "I wouldn't care if you ended up feeding through a straw."

"DIDDY KONG!" an adolescent voice called out.

Diddy Kong whirled his head around and said, "That's me!"

Soon enough, the owner of that voice made himself visible. It was a Spider Monkey who, aside from the half arachnid features, bore much resemblance to Diddy Kong, only with darker fur, a more muscular frame, tufted hair atop his head and torn red shorts.

"Dexter?" Diddy Kong inquired when he spotted him. Bumble growled through his dentures, and everyone else readied themselves to fight, until Diddy Kong intervened, saying, "Wait! Stop! He's my cousin!"

"Cousin?" Donkey Kong questioned.

"Diddy!" Dexter exclaimed.

"Dexter!" Diddy Kong beamed.

The two monkey cousins ran up to each other and embraced.

"Diddy, I'm so sorry," Dexter apologized. "When I saw you fighting against our army, I just couldn't bring myself to partake in this madness anymore. What stupid decisions I've made over the years. I got caught up in the wrong crowd, I idolized that spider, and now look at me. I'm a mutated mess! I lost sight of family values too."

"What's done is done, Dexter," Diddy Kong forgave. "Our family's kinda messed up anyway. My parents are almost always out on business trips, so I pretty much live with Donkey Kong now. He's more like real family to me. My adoptive uncle, basically."

"I've heard a lot about Donkey Kong, and I'm glad he was able to help," Dexter told his cousin.

"DK glad to help too," Donkey Kong commented.

"Any rate, listen, I know a way out of this abyss," Dexter claimed. "One that's easy enough to accommodate your guys' giant yeti friend."

"Sounds good to me, Bumbles need easy passageways," Yukon approved.

"UYHR-HUR!" Bumble nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, follow me everybody!" Dexter beckoned the group. Then everyone followed after the juvenile monkey to find their way to freedom and a continued journey to find the other missing Christmas figures.

***Additional Notes***

1\. Vine Valley was both a pine forest in "Donkey Kong Country" for Gameboy Advance and a literal vine jungle in "Donkey Kong Country Returns" for Wii and 3DS. On the wiki page of the former, it said that the pine forest had a small jungle region. Therefore, I played off of it and made the Vine Valley in Donkey Kong Country Returns the jungle region of the pine forest version of Vine Valley in the original Donkey Kong Country game.

2\. The Manky Kongs, whom Cranky Kong referenced, were a group of evil and orangutans in the early Donkey Kong Country games who had once betrayed the Kong family and threw barrels at the playable characters.

3\. Bumble's dialogue translated roars were a couple of the 1976 King Kong's roars. I thought those might suit him well since they are the closest I can get to his roars in the 1964 Rankin/Bass Rudolph movie (I could not find any sound clips of those). I also thought it might serve well as something different, given that his loss of teeth in the climax of the original movie probably changed his voice (as shown in comparison from the 1964 movie to its 2001 sequel). Any other weird sounds that Bumble makes are what I conceptualized from his 2001 voice. Also, Bumble's dentures, which I had referenced multiple times throughout the chapter, had been given to him by Hermey at the end of the 2001 movie, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys." Hermey had taken out Bumble's sharp teeth in the climax of the original 1964 Rudolph movie.

4\. The Spider Monkeys (including Diddy's cousin, Dexter) and their Giant Spider Deity are OC's of mine. I thought they might make interesting new antagonists in an environment such as Vine Valley. Given that the wikis say that Diddy Kong is a spider monkey (but not like the ones in this chapter), I thought it might be interesting to have one of Diddy's relatives as one of the spider's minions/worshippers. All of the spider's monkeys had been bitten by it and mutated thereby (kinda like the bite of a vampire or a werewolf to convert humans to their races, but slightly different).


End file.
